How many of us put ourselves in our customers’ shoes and see and feel how they experience us and our business? Let me give you a “real-life” example of utilising Reality Immersion to Increase Sales and Profits.

Michael Vance, professional speaker, tells a story about a dentist whose business was not doing very well, so he decided to go to a seminar on how to market more effectively. When he came back from that seminar he and his secretary went through the office on their hands and knees, taking a child’s view of their office. They got a feeling of what it was like to be a child at the dentist’s office.

The first thing they noticed was that the guest desk was too high and the children who came in had to look up over the desk. They had the desk inset into the floor and put little chairs in the front of it so that the children could sit down and have eye contact with the receptionist. They even took the medical forms and made them simple so small children could help fill them out. Colourful graphics that educated children on caring for their teeth were placed on the wall and headphones were installed in the waiting rooms so that children could listen to stories and dental care tips on CD’s. They built a play area for the children in the waiting room.

Then they did some research. After the children had their teeth examined, the receptionist would help them fill out a form on how they felt about their trip to the dentist. The most common complaint from the children was that they were terrified before the dentist did the work because they did not know what he was going to do.

The dental staff did some brainstorming and decided to explain the process to the children before the staff actually did anything. The child would work on his or her own teeth without the instruments being turned on. This showed the child exactly what was going to happen, and it reduced the anxiety. To top it off, on their way out the children received a signed photograph of their dentist to put on their wall – their hero!

Later on after the company grew, pictures of the dental assistants were put in the lobby so the children could choose the person they wanted to help them. The business in that dental office doubled. When I was one of the two consultants on the Nedbank sponsored “Fix my Biz” 13 week Reality T.V. Program on etv (now It’s my Biz), we used a similar approach with a new dentist in the West Rand in Gauteng. He saw a noticeably difference in customer satisfaction feedback and little feet through the door.

If you are selling to individuals there may be ways to help and be of better, impactful service to their family members. Brainstorm what needs to be done from the customer’s point of view.

In dealing with an organisation, look at ways to make a personal assistant or key decision maker’s secretary’s job easier when dealing with your company or with her boss. See it from her perspective. It could also be providing the accounts department with extra information to make their job easier when dealing with your company, or giving them extra breakdowns that helps them do their jobs faster and more efficiently. Think, see and feel from the customer’s point of view.

“If you have found this blog article to be valuable for you, I would be grateful if you “shared” it with your Social Media Networks. Also feel free to circulate it by e-mail or other means internally within your organization or externally to your clients, suppliers and personal and business network. Thank-you!”    – Bill Gibson

Bill Gibson is a Canadian who is living in South Africa. He is an international speaker and author and a developer of sales, service, marketing, collecting, employee morale building, personal development and entrepreneurial training programs and systems. His blog is www.bill-gibson.com and his website is www.kbitraining.com. He can be reached at bill@kbitraining.com or phone +27-11-784-1720 in South Africa. You can follow Bill Gibson on Twitter: @billgibson1, connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gibsonbill or Knowledge Brokers International SA Pty Ltd Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/knowledgebrokers?ref=hl

14% of the time you or I do not return to the average place of business is because of unadjusted complaints. It is important to teach your employees how to handle complaints because complaints can even gain additional business as well as save business.

I’ve had the occasion to complain about the meal in a restaurant expecting the server to do very little about it, and to my surprise find out there was no charge for the meal, an apology by the Manager and a gift certificate for another time. In this specific case I made it a point to utilise the gift certificate and bring two other couples with me. I’ve also told dozens of friends about the restaurant.

Preparation! Preparation! Preparation! Preparation! Preparation!

If I were to let you know what a client’s problem, concern, question, objection or complaint was going to be two days in advance of meeting her, you could easily handle the situation. The reason why, would be cause you had time to prepare and come up with some answers. In my opinion complaint handling is about being prepared. It is much like handling objections. We suggest you use this 6 Point Process to Handling Complaints and Objections.

Implement the following 6 Point Process for Handling Complaints and Objections and you will handle most objections, problems, complaints, questions, scenarios and situations with ease.

1. Identify the various “Pivot Points” in your business where customers and clients come in contact with the “People Who Handle The Traffic” in your business. Identify the people who are at those pivot points. (Pivot points could be receiving internal phone calls, making outbound calls, delivering goods, front counter, receptionist, outside visits to businesses etc.)
2. Brainstorm with your colleagues all the possible problems, concerns, complaints, objections, questions, situations, scenarios, challenges and hurdles that you’ve had in the past, are having now or could have in the future.
3. Take this list and prioritise them from the most common to the least common.
4. Then brainstorm 4 to 5 Solutions and Answers for each one of these complaints, objections, questions, situations, concerns and problems etc.
5. Build a list of the complaints/objections and then put the solutions, answers, or responses for each complaint/objection under each complaint/objection. Post them where you can see them. Carry them in your Planner, on your Tablet/Smartphone or on your Laptop or put them in a Complaint/Objection Handling Guide.
6. Review them regularly. If you are a sales or service manager or business owner continually test your team and give small rewards for the right answers. You could have “complaint of the day” or “objection of the day” at your meetings. You must keep the answers at the top of your mind and on the tip of your tongue…that takes practise.

Following are two examples taken from our Objection Handling Guide with 103 Common Objections & Responses that account executives and salespeople may receive from a client. The examples are Objection #16: “We’ve Had Bad Service In The Past With One Of Your Divisions” (Electronic Security) and Objection #17: “We Had A Bad Experience In The Past With Your Division” (Electronic Security). These were originally part of an Objection / Complaint Handling Guide I built for an Electronic Security client.

16. “We’ve Had Bad Service In The Past With One Of Your Other Divisions” (Electronic Security)

16.1  I feel like I’ve come in halfway through a sports game and don’t know what happened in the   first half. Can you fill me in on what happened?

16.2  Even though I have no control over another Division of Electronic Security Inc. … I must apologise, because I’m part of Electronic Security Inc. even though we run separately as units. I’d be interested to know what happened. Would you be kind enough to tell me?

16.3  As you probably know we work literally as separate businesses but I must apologise for whatever was done that upset you or inconvenienced you. If you were to work with us what would be your expectations of being treated properly.

16.4  Besides the experience with Division A of Electronic Security Inc. what else is it that might prevent you from considering our services?

16.5  Even though you had a bad experience with Division A, what is it that we’d need to do   to gain your confidence?

16.6   Please share with me what happened!

Client:        Here is what happened …. Etc. etc.

Marketer:  Here is what we do to prevent these kinds of things happening in our Division.

16.7  I’d really not want to see you lose out on a service that is helping many clients create a better bottom line because of an experience with another Division of Electronic Security Inc. Can I take a few minutes to show what we do and how you can be assured of excellent service and real tangible savings and increases in security while still giving you a better bottom line.

17.  “We Had A Bad Experience In The Past With Your Division” (Electronic Security)

17.1  I’m sorry, tell me what happened. How long ago was it? Who were you dealing with?

Client:      Explains

Marketer:  Based on what you’ve told me … I’d say you’ve been kind to me. I think if I had that experience as a client I would’ve been more upset than you. Look, I’m sincere about doing a good job and having you as a happy client. What can I do to help re establish a relationship with you?

17.2  In the past I can understand how this happened. The procedure that now prevents this kind of problem coming up is this (Describe the procedure)

17.3 Things have changed with us. Here are several recent quotes from our clients.

17.4 Would you agree that the people you deal with in a company make the difference?

Client:     Yes

Marketer: This time I’d be the one in charge and here is how I work with clients to ensure they see the real benefits they pay for.

17.5  I can relate to and hear what you are saying and certainly understand your position in reference to us. At the same time I think you’d agree with me that some of the best relationships you have with some clients got off on the wrong foot. Then you were able to correct it and ended up with a happy client. I’d like that opportunity to show you what we can really do and correct the past with excellent service in the future. Will you be so kind as to at least allow me to present how things work now?

17.6 That’s why I want to review this checklist with you. It will clarify how we do business now.

Note: Personally I believe every company should have an Objection Handling and/or Complaint Handling Guide made up of examples like the two examples above.

I’ve also listed several additional ideas to help insure that complaints, objections and difficult situations are handled in such a way that a business loses a minimum number of customers:

• Get written authority from your manager to do certain things when handling complaints/objections or at least guidelines you agree with.
• Give customers a few options.
• Ask customers how they’d like you to handle the complaint or situation. If their suggestion is reasonable, Do It!
• Don’t say, “what is the problem?” say “what is the situation?” or “let’s look at the situation.”
• Let customers ventilate before using logic. They won’t listen until they calm down a bit. Validate how they feel.
• Show respect to the complaining customer by going to get a manager or the owner. It makes them feel more respected. Volunteer to do that before they suggest it.

I trust this blog article will help make the handling of objections and complaints much easier.

“If you have found this blog article to be valuable for you, I would be grateful if you “shared” it with your Social Media Networks. Also feel free to circulate it by e-mail or other means internally within your organization or externally to your clients, suppliers and personal and business network. Thank-you!”    – Bill Gibson

Bill Gibson is a Canadian who is living in South Africa. He is an international speaker and author and a developer of sales, service, marketing, collecting, employee morale building, personal development and entrepreneurial training programs and systems. His blog is www.bill-gibson.com and his website is www.kbitraining.com. He can be reached at bill@kbitraining.com or phone +27-11-784-1720 in South Africa. You can follow Bill Gibson on Twitter: @billgibson1, connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gibsonbill or Knowledge Brokers International SA Pty Ltd Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/knowledgebrokers?ref=hl